It is stunning how quickly one can move from urban Wellington into rural Wellington. Ohariu Valley is a prime example being just 12 minutes drive from downtown Wellington and a stones throw from suburban Johnsonville.

The slowly expanding new housing of west Johnsonville quickly gives way to farms and horse paddocks as one travels on the winding Ohariu Valley Road towards Makara Beach, some 10 minutes further on.

The valley was once densely forested and a hunting and gathering ground for Maori, but with the arrival of Europeans in the early 19th century, tree felling and clearing became the pattern. In these early settler days the valley’s main industry was the sale of logs, sawn timber and firewood. It wasn’t until 1916 that the first dairy farm appeared and before long there were many farms working to provide milk for the nearby and growing urban area to the south east.

Nowadays, Ohariu Valley is still home to a number of farms, but there are now horse riding schools and holding paddocks, farmstays, lifestyle blocks, the Ohariu Golf Course (10 greens and 18 tees) and the renowned Boomrock Lodge.

The Ohariu Valley Road is popular for cycling and recreational driving with its winding road following the contours of streams and valleys all the way to the coast at Makara.

Take a look at ‘Place Finder” Wellington.